Use of Wood Resources in Two Rural Communities of Angical do Piauí/PI, Brazil

Abstract

Rural populations use many plant species for different purposes. According to form of extraction and used part of the plant, the wood use can bring environmental damage such as deforestation and cause extinction of certain species. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, preference and timber use in the rural communities of Chapada Hamilton and Novo Horizonte in the Angical municipality of Piauí/PI. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 heads of families living in communities, besides the use of inventory in situ. There were found 62 identified species in total, belonging to 28 different wood families, used in the categories of building, technology and phyto fuel. Regarding the richness of the species mentioned Chapada do Hamilton’s community had the largest number of known species. There was no statistical difference between the number of known species, used and preferred among communities in the three categories analyzed. Construction had most of the species mentioned in total, with 55 species in comparison with the categories technology and phyto fuel, 40 and 28 of the mentioned species, respectively. Comparing the categories of use against the number of species mentioned in the two communities, there were statistical differences between Building and Phyto fuel, which were not repeated in the categories construction and technology and phyto fuel technology. The specific use in phyto fuel category occurs predominantly in the form of coal. It was observed that populations of both communities know a wide variety of species of wood, and it is suggested that priority be given in future maintenance strategies to species which have preference in more than one category of use.